Media Releases
Monthly Highlights: September
Released at 10:01 am on 27 August 2025
Coming soon
FILM | ARTS & CULTURE
Joy, Full & Fearless
Monday 8 September
Joy, Full & Fearless is an eye-opening documentary that follows Joy Cowley as she shares the trauma and triumph that have woven her astonishing life as New Zealand’s prolific, widely published and much celebrated author of fiction for adults and children.
Produced by Krafty Productions with support from NZ On Air. Launching on rnz.co.nz/video.
PODCAST | SOCETY & CULTURE, MONEY
No Stupid Questions with Susan Edmunds
Wednesday 17 September
RNZ money correspondent Susan Edmunds wants to demystify money and personal finance with her new podcast No Stupid Questions with Susan Edmunds. Susan isn’t a traditionally trained money person, and when talking to CEOs or economists, she’s often said “sorry this might be a stupid question, but…”, so she wants to give you the opportunity to ask them too. Susan will be sent in questions each week and will try to answer them.*
*Not personalised financial advice.
Launching on Wednesday 17 September on rnz.co.nz/podcasts and podcast platforms.
VIDEO SERIES | SPORT, PASIFIKA
Outside the Lines
Monday 29 September
Outside the Lines looks at what goes on behind the scenes for some of our top Pasifika athletes, and the people who surround them. From sportswomen who are mothers with full-time jobs, to young aspiring athletes punching above their weight, and the everyday realities of some of our most celebrated sports heroes - this unique series delves into the human facets of sport in Aotearoa where Pacific people over-represent. Made with support from NZ On Air and available at rnz.co.nz/video.
VIDEO SERIES | TAMARIKI
My Favourite Dead Person S3
Friday 19 September
My Favourite Dead Person is a sketch show for kids that honours New Zealand history by telling some of our incredible, funny, inspiring, and outrageous stories, while highlighting what makes them unique and relevant to our special corner of the world. In each episode, comedian Josh Thomson is joined by tamariki who bring these stories to life through their own interpretations and comedic sketches.
Both these series will release just in time for the school holidays on Friday 19 September. These series and more programmes for tamariki are available on rnz.co.nz/video. Made with support from NZ On Air.
VIDEO SERIES | TAMARIKI
Birds Eye View s2
Friday 19 September
Animated series Bird's Eye View is back for season two. Meet Tūī, Kererū, Pīwakawaka and Pūkeko. These four feathered friends love to ponder and debate the weird and bizarre behaviours of humans in their natural habitat. Every day, they kōrero about all sorts of theories, trying to understand what these humans are getting up to and they always come up with off-the-wall conclusions.
Māori Language Week
PODCAST | TE REO MĀORI
Paewhiri
RNZ Podcast Producer Justine Murray, Māori Language teacher Ngairo Eruera, Moana Radio presenter Te Kehukehu Patara hosts new podcast, Paewhiri a bilingual chatcast steeped in te ao Māori. Paewhiri has been broadcast live on Moana Radio in Tauranga since 2020 and launches on rnz.co.nz/podcasts and podcast platforms from Monday 15 September, with one episode per day during Māori Language Week.
LIVE BROADCAST | RNZ CONCERT
Pūmanawa - Celebration of kapa haka
Pūmanawa showcases four brilliant kapa haka who embody the ideals of legacy, talent and dedication to a centuries-old way of celebration. Join Te Rōpū Manutaki, Te Iti Kahurangi, Tūwhitia kia Angitu and Ngā Tūmanako as they sing and haka with full voices, fierce wairua (spirit) and boundless energy. Celebrating 50 years of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, on RNZ Concert. Commissioned by the Auckland Arts Festival and recorded by RNZ Concert. Broadcast in four parts on RNZ Concert from Monday 15 - Thursday 18 September, 7pm.
LIVE BROADCAST | RNZ CONCERT
Music Alive: Tararua – Bird Like Men
Wellington ensemble Tararua takes listeners on an intimate journey as waiata, composition, and improvisations are threaded together with the tale of southern whānau. Bird Like Men weaves together a story of survival, tradition, kinship, and honour. Tararua are: Ariana Tikao (vocals, taonga pūoro), Ruby Solly (vocals, taonga pūoro, cello), Alistair Fraser (taonga pūoro), Phil Boniface (double bass) live in the Loft at Q Theatre.A concert for Chamber Music New Zealand, recorded by RNZ Concert. Broadcast on Music Alive on Tuesday 16 September, 8pm.
Other radio highlights
CURRENT AFFAIRS | PODCAST
Morning Report - Show updates
RNZ National's flagship news programme Morning Report has added new regular segments with RNZ journalists including Money Correspondent Susan Edmonds, Rurals Reporter Gianina Schwanecke and Europe Correspondent Alice Wilkins.Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Labour's Deputy Carmel Sepuloni go head to head every Wednesday morning, a newsworthy CEO every Thursday and a new sports panel with former All Black Captain Taine Randell and 1News Sports Editor Abby Wilson preview all the weekend action every Friday morning. For early risers, you'll also notice a smoother transition between First Up and Morning Report at 5.58am. Listen to Morning Report from 6-9am weekdays on radio, on rnz.co.nz and on the RNZ app with show highlights available in the Morning Report Essentials podcast.
DRAMA | RNZ NATIONAL
The Playhouse
Jodie Rimmer stars in the one-woman play Nicola Cheeseman is Back by playwright Kathryn Burnett jumping into a conversation that is startlingly recognisable, painfully funny and also very touching. Recorded at the new Court Theatre in Christchurch, Sir Roger Hall's End of Summer Times sees loveable curmudgeon Dickie and his wife Glenda after their move into an Auckland apartment, Seaview, with a body corporate and a tiny peek of the sea, to be near their grandchildren. The plays will be broadcast in two parts on Culture 101 on Sundays at 3:05pm from 14 September and available to listen on-demand at rnz.co.nz/podcasts under The Playhouse.
LIVE BROADCAST | RNZ CONCERT
Auckland Philharmonia - Tchaikovsky's Violin
Acclaimed young violinist Chloe Chua makes her New Zealand debut with the Auckland Philharmonia under the baton of conductor Shiyeon Sung. The program opens with Suppé's lively Overture to Morning, Noon, and Night in Vienna, followed by Tchaikovsky’s magnificent Violin Concerto featuring the brilliant Chua.
The concert also includes Stravinsky's Divertimento from The Fairy's Kiss and concludes with Haydn's Symphony No. 93. Live on RNZ Concert, 25 September, 7.30pm
LIVE BROADCAST | RNZ CONCERT
NZSO - Mahler 6
Conductor Gemma New continues NZSO’s cycle of Mahler symphonies with his Sixth Symphony, nicknamed “Tragic”. This colossal masterpiece for a massive orchestra (110 musicians) was noted even in its own time for “surpassing its predecessors in solidity of structure, but also in its realism and nerve-wracking intensity” (Julius Korngold).
Broadcast live on RNZ Concert from the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington, Friday 5 September, 6.30pm.
Out now
PODCAST | CURRENT AFFAIRS, HISTORY
Context
Context is the backstory to the front page. In this chatcast, award-winning investigative journalist Guyon Espiner and Morning Report co-host Corin Dann take you on a trip through time with a story making headlines in New Zealand today, asking the question: How did we end up here? Being fair and balanced types, they swap roles each week, one being the expert and the other the interested interviewer.
Out now on rnz.co.nz/podcasts and podcast platforms. Also available to watch on rnz.co.nz/video.
VIDEO | FASHION, CULTURE
Cutting the Curve
New docoseries Cutting the Curve is a bold look at fashion, culture and power. In an era of Ozempic bodies and curated tokenism, curve and plus-size women speak with fierce honesty about visibility, rejection, and the resilience it takes to keep showing up when your body is no longer trending.
At the centre is Samoan New Zealand opera singer-turned-model Isabella Moore, who refuses to shrink to fit. Through raw, first-person storytelling, the series follows Isabella and other women navigating fashion in New Zealand, London, and New York, revealing what it costs to be visible only when it’s profitable, and why true inclusion must go beyond trends.
Out now on rnz.co.nz/video Produced by Notable Pictures and funded by RNZ.
ENDS
